Amazon to Cut 16,000 Jobs Globally in Second Major Layoff Round as AI Adoption Rises

Amazon on Wednesday said it will eliminate about 16,000 jobs worldwide, marking its second major round of layoffs in three months as the company restructures after pandemic-era over-hiring and expands the use of artificial intelligence across its operations.

The latest cuts follow an earlier reduction of roughly 14,000 corporate roles in late October and form part of a broader plan to trim around 30,000 white-collar positions. The layoffs are expected to impact employees across Amazon Web Services, retail operations, Prime Video and human resources.

Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy has said the company needs to streamline decision-making by reducing layers of management and cutting what he described as excessive bureaucracy built up during years of rapid expansion.

“Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm, where we announce broad reductions every few months. That’s not our plan,” said Beth Galetti, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, seeking to reassure employees following the announcement.

The job cuts also highlight the growing influence of artificial intelligence on corporate workforces. Advances in AI-powered assistants are enabling companies to automate tasks ranging from administrative work to complex software development, accelerating adoption across industries.

Jassy said last summer that wider use of AI tools would increasingly automate certain roles, leading to reductions in corporate headcount. Earlier this month, executives speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting said while some jobs would be lost to AI, new roles would emerge, even as some warned that the technology could be used as justification for planned job cuts.

While the planned 30,000 job reductions represent a small fraction of Amazon’s total workforce of about 1.58 million employees, they account for nearly 10% of its corporate staff. Most of the company’s employees work in fulfillment centers and warehouses.

Amazon is not alone in reining in headcount. Major technology firms including Meta Platforms and Microsoft have also been restructuring after aggressive hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Separately, Amazon continues to invest heavily in robotics at its warehouses to speed up packaging and deliveries, reduce dependence on manual labor and cut costs in its e-commerce business.

The company is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings next week.